Rolling mill



Nov. 15,1938.

H. SCHUS TER ROLLING MILL Filed April 5. 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 15, 1938. SC STER 2,137,100

. ROLLING MILL Filed, April 5. 193a 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 NW. 15, 1938. +1. SCHUSTER ROLLING MILL Filed April 3. 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 25 Inventor: JWL/- #am mmmq rw" Patented Nov. 15, 1938 I 4 UNITED STATES ROLLING MILL Hans Schuster, Immigrath'. Germany Application April 3, 1936, S6118 N0. 72;65

13 Claims.-

The rolling mill serves for making circular sheet metal discsby rolling out a thicker circular blank of smaller periphery in such a manner that the blank is rolled out between cylindrii cal rolls successively in difierent directions, re-

taining the same percentage diminution in thickness. See mypatent application 5,346, filed Febriiary 7,1935. In order to ensure the desired result and to carry out this particular rolling proc- D ess without disturbance, according to the present invention it is necessary or at least advantageous to provide the rolling mill with the following special means: firstly, means "for bringing about an accurate centring of the blank in its inter- 5 mediate stages, when it is being turned into another rolling direction; secondly, means for eliminating the irregularities produced in the cumulative effect of the different rolling opera-' tions through the unrestrictedmovements oi the blank when leaving each pair of rolls and when being centred; thirdly, means for feeding the blank, after it has been centred, accurately in the rolling direction to the next pair of rolls, fourthly, means for overcoming thev disturbances which might occur through the forming of scale and fifthly, means for preventing the rolls from yielding automatically, that is for enforcing the retention of the distance between the rolls of each pair of rolls corresponding to the i0 constant percentage diminution in thickness and consequently this'diminution itself. How these means may each be constituted shall now be described with "reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: I 35 Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a complete rolling mill assembly embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 for turning, centering and feeding the work pieces between roll sets;

40 Fig. 3 is a side elevation partly in section of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a modified form of apparatus for turning, centering and feeding a. work piece between roll sets; 45 Fig. 5 is a partial side elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 4 as viewed from the right;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in-Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a further enlarged plan view of a part 50 of the apparatus shown in Fig. 6; a

Fig. 8 is a vertical section through the apparatus shown in Fig. '7;

Fig. 9 is a schematic vertical section of a special form of roll construction. Fig. 1 shows diagrammatically a complete plant Germany April 30, 1935' byway of example. Cylindrical blocks coming from a heating furnace are divided up in the cutting device a into blanks in the form of circular discs, which roll into areheating furnace b, are then turned over into the horizontal posi- 5 tion and pass along the track 0 to the first pair of rolls I. Four housings, each with a pair of rolls, I, 2, I and l, are disposed one behind the other, the distance between the rolls being made tocorrespond to the progressive percentage diminution in thickness. Between the pairs of rolls I and 2, 2 and 3, 3 and 4 the devices are arranged, which serve the purposeof turning the blank coming from the pair of rolls I or 2 or 3 into the new rolling direction and of conveying it to the next following pair of rolls {or 3 or 4 in this turned position. This device will be reverted to below. The rolls derive their drive through bevel wheels from a shaft extending laterally of all the housings. It is of advantage to increase the speed of revolution of the rolls in the successive housings to correspond to the progressive reduction in thickness.

The device given in Fig. 1 for turning the blank and feeding it forward is shown in Fig. 2 to a larger scale in plan view and in Fig. 3 in front elevation, partly in section. All parts not es-. sential for making the matter clear are omitted. The device shown between the pairs of rolls I and 2 is the same throughout. I I

I The blank :1: which has become elliptical slides over the downwardly inclined bottom of the chute d from the rolls I, I on to a plate e mounted on I ed to turn about a vertical shaft r. Through the blank striking against the stop h provided on the plate cit is brought into the correct posi-. tion forthe immediately following turning motion into another rolling direction. It is assumed, that the blank 2: is to be turned in such a manner as to be displaced through 90 with respect to its original position. That willbe the case if the swinging, bracket :1- with the plate 0 to be turned through 90, which-is effected by driving means which are not shown. Through the shaft f turning, it is at the same time raised; owing to the provision of the upwardly inclined groove 1', to such an extent that the turned blank comes to the level suited for conveying it to the rolls 2. As the stop h has also assumed ,anotherposition, the blank can now be pushedjalong in the rolling direction. This is eflected by means of the fork k which is pivoted by means "of a pivot pin m to a lever l which is adapted to swing in a horizontal plane, The meansfor driving the lever l are also not shown. On the under side of the fork is there is a rib n which is capable of sliding in a diametrical groove 0 of the plate e. Through the end of the rib n and the end of the groove 0 being suitably formed, the rib n will, on the lever l swinging, find its entry into the groove 0, whereupon it will be guided along in the latter, so that the fork k engaging the blank 0: will push the centred elliptical blank forward accurately in the rolling direction towards the pair of rolls 2. By this means the blank is brought along'the slightly ascending bottom of the chute 12 between the rolls which then seize it and roll it out. The lever l and the swinging bracket 0 are thereupon swung back into their initial position.

mass production, a special plate e with a stop hv might be provided for each different dimension, in which case the plate e must of course be capable of being changed.

The same arrangement is "provided between the further pairs of rolls, but with suitable dimensions. Behind the pair of rolls 2 the blank is however, circular again, so that for turning it it is not so necessary to centre it accurately as behind the rolls I and 3. Nevertheless this centring is of advantage in this case as well.

, Owing to the freedom of motion of the blank when leaving a pair of rolls and owing, though in a less degree, to the centring operation, the whole of the course travelled by the blank contains portions'along which the speed of travel cannot always be accurately predetermined. This might detrimentally affect the cumulative effect of the different operations, more particularly the rolling operation between the individual rolls. This disturbing effect may be avoided by providing, through suitably controlling the means for turning the blank-into the fresh rolling direction and the forward feed of the blank to the new pair of rolls, each time for a pause in the motion of the blank, which pause will suffice in every case, that is a pause within which the various motions will with certainty be completed. The arrangement for this purpose cannot of course be shown in the drawings, as it is only a time al lowance for the operations and a suitable control.

In the Figs. 4, 5 and 6 is shown a side elevation, front elevation and a plan view of another constructional form of the device for centring the blank. Details of this device are shown to a somewhat larger scale in Figs. 7 and 8. g is again the swinging bracket with the plate e for receiving the blank coming from the previous pair of rolls. This plate e is (see Fig. 7) with advantage made in the form of a circular grate. It is assumed that a compressed air installation is provided and that the compressed air is made use of for bringing about the various motions. The swinging bracket g is swung from the cylinder q to and fro about the stationary column f, namely though 90", unless some other angle is chosen. During the swinging motion of the swinging bracketg the gear shown causes a plunger 1' supported by the said bracket to be raised and lowered, together with a plate 8 fixed to it, according to the direction of swing relatively to the plate e, which latter plate is itself raised and lowered, together with the swinging bracket 9, according to the direction of swing by means of lifting gear u which is actuated by the cylinder t. In the initial position, in which the blank slides from between a pair of rolls on to the plate e the latter is in its lowest position, whilst the plate s is also in its lowest position with respect to the plate e. On the plate s are vertical fingers 0 which extend upwards through radial slots in the plate e and are so arranged that they embrace the'elliptical blank (see Figs. 7' and 8). These fingers 1; which in the initial position bear in the rolling direction against the forward half of the blank are larger than the rearward fingers. The inner edges of all the fingers are inclinedfso that the fingers form upwardly tapering wedges. In the initial position, which is not shown, the plate 8 is so far below the plate e that the points of the rearward fingers do not project beyond the top surface of the plate, whereas the points of the forward fingers do project. The blank will therefore slide over the rearward fingers against the forward fingers which will then act as stops and at the same time from the start catch the forward half of the elliptical blank in such a manner that it is given a very accurate central position with respect to the vertical central axis of the plate e. On the swinging bracket 9 with the plate e being swun the plate s will rise relatively to the plate e, so that the shorter fingers 0 will also come up out of the plate e. The elliptical blank is thus engaged on all sides by the wedge-shaped fingers which, if the blank should not yet be quite central, shift it into an exactly central position. At the end of the forwardly directed stroke of the swinging motion the fingers o are in their lowest position, in which the larger fingers as well will have disappeared below the top surface of the plate e. The blank-can then be pushed unhindered to the next pair of rolls. During the subsequent backward swing the fingers and the plate will again reach the initial position.

In order to remove the scale, compressed air may be blown (Figs. '1 and. 8) on to the surface of the blank. while it rests on the grate plate e, from a nozzle 10 having a flattened end. In the constructional i'orm shown (see Fig. 8) this air is waste air escaping from a hammering orbeating device y. This beating device acts as a vibrator for producing vibrations inthe plate. These vibrations both assist the blowing oif of the scale and the shifting of the blank into its correct central position between the wedged-shaped fingers v. The control of the supply of air to the vibrator is suitably so arranged that the latter only comes into operation. when the blank is surrounded by the fingers 12, since otherwise the vibrations might cause the blank to be shifted out of the central position or out of the correct travelling direction. The sliding of the blank over the slots in the grate plate e assists in theremoval of the scale at the bottom surface of the blank. For the rest, the removal of the scale may be assisted in a known manner by spraying with water.

Even when the stroke of the forward feed device is made quite accurate, in the example illustrated the stroke of the fork 7:, it will not always be possible to prevent the blank being seized by the new pair ofgrolls slightly before the completion of the forward feed, whereby the resistance to the forward feed would be suddenly increased and a disturbance would be caused. On the other hand, however, it is also essential. that the forward feed shall not cease before the blank is seized. It is therefore of advantage to make the forward feed slightly too great and to provide means which, on the blank being seized by the rolls, stop the further forward feed. 'Ihis may be effected in a very simple manner by interpos- 76" ing in the forward feeding means, for instance in the shaft on which the lever I (Fig. 2) is mounted,

a friction coupling which, on a predetermined working resistance being exceeded, nolonger takes the lever I along with it. The same result might be obtained by the interposition of a spring or the like of definite strength or adjusted in a definite manner.

The means for turning the blank into the new rolling direction and for raising and lowering the support of the blank may of course be varied in many ways. An arrangement may be mentioned, in which the support of the blank is fixed on a stationary, vertical shaft which is adapted to be turned through any suitable angle and to be raised and lowered at the same time by meansof an inclined groove. The means. for feeding the blank forward from itssupport to each new pair of rolls may also vary considerably. A lever which swings above the support of the blank about a horizontal axis may for instance be mentioned, to which a fork for engaging the blank is pivoted. As this lever swings in a vertical plane, the forward effect in the rolling direction would at the same time be ensured without any special provisions therefor. Provisions must however,always bemade for the requirements 1 i tially referred to being fulfilled.

The mill train consists of any number of housings-which may also be constructed as three-high mills, it being then of course necessary to provide means for guiding the blank between the upper and lower rolls.

It is also of particular advantage toprovide means for preventing any yielding of the rolls during the passage of the blank, that is for enforcing the retention of the distance between the rolls of each pair of rolls corresponding to the constant percentage diminution in thickness of the blank and consequently the diminution itself. Eor this purpose the diameter of the rolls may be made particularly great and the housings supporting the rolls particularly strong, so as to prevent any yielding of the rolls and the housing. Or, as indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 9 in side view, the working rolls l, l, may-be provided with separate supporting rolls 2', 2' of larger diameter, in a manner known per se.

What I claim is:-

1.A rolling mill for making a circular sheet metal disc by rolling out a thicker circular blank of smaller periphery between pairs of cylindrical rolls successively in different directions in such a manner as to retain the same percentag diminution in thickness, comprising between each pair of rolls a support for the blank, means for swinging the support out of the position for receiving the blank from one pair of rolls into a position for delivering it to the next pair of rolls, at least one stop on the support, means for displacing the stop for accurately centering the blank while the support is being swung into its -new position and means for moving the stop out of the path of the forward feed of the blank, when the support has been swung into its new position.

2. A rolling mill for making a circular sheet metal disc by rolling out a thicker circular blank of smaller periphery between pairs of cylindrical rolls.successlvely in different directions in such a manner as to retain the same percentage diminution in thickness, comprising between each pair of rolls a support for the blank, means for swinging the support out of the position for receiving the blank from one pair of rolls into a position for delivering it to the next pair of rolls,

at least one stop on the support, means for dis the support has been swung into its ncw posltion and means for adjusting the stop.

3. A rolling mill for making a circular sheet metal disc by rolling out athicker circular blank of smaller periphery between pairs of cylindrical rolls successively in different directions in such a manner as to retain the same percentage diminution in thickness, comprising between each pair of rolls a support for the blank, means for swinging-the support out of the position for receiving the blank from one pair of rolls in a position for delivering it to the next pair of ro is, a plurality of wedge-shaped upright stop fingers on-the support and surrounding the blank, means for displacing the fingers for accurately centring the blank while the support is being swung into its new position and means for lowering the fingers when the support has been swung into its new position.

4. A rolling millas claimed in claim 3 and in which the fingers are ofdifferent size so as not to hinder the blank from being pushed on to the support, but nevertheless to limit the distance to which it can be pushed on.

5. A rolling mill for making a circular sheet metal disc by rolling out a thicker circular blank of smaller periphery between pairs of cylindrical rolls successively in different directions in such a manner as to 'retain the same percentage diminution in thickness, comprising between each pair of rolls a grate-like support for the blank, means forswinging the grate-like support with the blank into the new rolling direction, means for accurately centring the blank on the support while it is being so swung and means for removing the scale from the blank.

6. A rolling mill for making a circular sheet metal disc by rolling out a thicker circular blank of smaller periphery between pairs of cylindrical rolls successively in different directions in such a manner as to retain the same percentage dim- '7. A rolling mill for making a circular sheet metal disc by rolling out a thicker circular blank of smaller periphery between pairs of cylindrical rolls successively in different directions in such a manner as to retain the same percentage diminution in thickness, comprising between each pair, of rollsa g'rate-likesupport for the blank, means for swinging the grate-like support with the blank into the new, rolling direction, means for accurately centring the blank on the support while it is being so swung, means for blowing air and other means for at the same time spraying-water on to the upper surface of the blank for removing the scale from it.

8. A rolling mill for making a circular sheet metal disc by rolling out a thicker circular blank of smaller periphery between pairs of cylindrical rolls successively in-diil'erent directions in such a manner as to retain the same percentage diminution in thickness, comprising between each means for swinging the grate-like support with the blank into the new rolling direction, means for accurately centring the blank on the support while it is being so swung, means for removing the scale from the upper surface of the blank and means for imparting a vibratory motion to the grate-like support and thereby to the blank for. removing the scale from the bottom surface of the blank.

9. A rolling mill for making a circular sheet metal disc by rolling out a thicker circular blank of smaller periphery between pairs of cylindrical rolls successively in difierent directions in such a manner as to retain the same percentage diminution in thickness, comprising between each pair of rolls a grate-like support for the blank, means for swinging the grate-like support with the blank into the new rolling-direction, means for accurately centring the blank on the support while it is being so swung, the said means comprising a plurality of wedge-shaped upright stop fingers on the support and surrounding the blank, which are capable of being adjusted with respect to the blank and of being lowered when the support has been swung into its new position, means for removing the scale from the upper surface of the blank and means for imparting a vibratory motion to the gratelike support and thereby to the blank for removing -the scale from the bottom surface .of the blank while the centring of the blank is being effected.

' 10. Apparatus for rolling discs, comprising in combination, two sets of rolls disposed adjacent each other for successively acting upon a disc in angularly changed positions to alternately roll it into circular and elliptical shapes, a support for receiving the rolled disc as it leaves the first set of rolls, means associated with said support for halting the disc accurately in predetermined position, and means cooperating with said support-for feeding the'disc in angularly turned position relative to an axis in the plane of the disc to the second set of rolls, said last-mentioned means being of such a nature as to present the curved-edge circular or elliptical disc accurately in a predetermined angular relationship to the second set of rolls.

11. Apparatus for rolling discs, comprising in combination, two sets of rolls disposed adjacent each other for successively acting upon a disc in angularly changed positions to alternately roll it into circular and elliptical shapes, a chute for delivering the rolled disc from the first set of rolls, a support for receiving said disc from said chute, means associated with said support for halting the disc accurately invpredetern'iined D0- sition, a chute for guiding the disc to the second set of'rolls, and means cooperating with said supportfor feeding the disc in angularly turned position relative to an axis in the plane of the disc to the second set of rolls, said last-mentioned means being of such a nature as to present the curved-edge circular or elliptical disc accurately in a predetermined angular relationship to the second set of rolls.

12. Apparatus for rolling discs, comprising in combination, two adjacent sets of rolls for successively acting upon a disc in angularly changed positions to alternately roll it into circular and elliptical shapes, a swingable device adapted to receive the rolled disc from the first set of rolls and present it in an angularly turned position relative to an axis in the plane of the disc to the second set of rolls, means associated with said swingable device for halting the disc accurately in predetermined position, and means cooperating with said swingable device for feeding the disc to the second set of rolls, said last mentioned means being of such a nature as to present the curved-edge circular or elliptical disc accurately in a predetermined angular relationship to the second set of rolls.

13. Apparatusfor rolling discs, comprising in combination, two adjacent sets of rolls for successively acting upon a disc in angularly changed rolls, and means for accurately feeding said disc from the swingable device to said second set of rolls after said swingable device has been moved into position adjacent said second set of rolls.

- HANS SCHUSTER. 

